He’s more used to strutting his stuff on a football pitch than down a catwalk, but one English soccer player looks set to choose Britain and Ireland’s Next Top Model.

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, 34, is set to take up one of the vacant seats on the show’s panel when it returns to TV screens next July, alongside ‘The Body’ Elle Macpherson, and former X Factor judge Dannii Minogue. 

The Sunday People quotes a source close to Rio as saying: “It will be hilarious to watch Rio on the show. He sees himself as a bit of style expert but he’s up for a laugh, too.”

Red Carpet Rio - a marked change from the usual sight, red jersey Rio...

Rio certainly rates his own fashion nous, having launched an ­accessories range called #5, modestly named after his shirt number on the field.

That's no football boot - one of the designs from Ferdinand's '#5' line 

Speaking at the launch of that range in 2010 the footballer said: “I always had clothes around as a kid growing up. When my dad went out, I’d put on his blazers and his brogues. I’d be thinking, ‘If only he’d had his name initialed on the inside.’”

Ferdinand will be the first footballer to appear on the Sky Living show, last year’s judges were designer Julien Macdonald, ‘The Hills’ star Whitney Port and model Tyson Beckford.